Cowan holds it together in Wollogong

Drenching rain has prevented cricket in most parts of Sydney today, but the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Tasmania in Wollongong has been unaffected.  Sent in by the visitors, New South Wales lost three early wickets in the first session, but the experience of University left-hander Ed Cowan salvaged the innings.  At lunch, he was unbeaten on 41, out of his side's three for 79, batting with poise and confidence against a testing Tasmanian attack.  A short time ago, he had reached 70, as the Blues recovered from their early setbacks to reach three for 131.

Already in this innings, Ed has passed two landmarks - he has reached 500 first-class runs for the season, and 2000 runs for New South Wales in first-class cricket.

Player of the Round: Round 13

Voting has been completed for the Sydney Uni Cricket Player of the Round following Round 12 of the McDonald's NSW Premier Cricket competition.

The Surjits Player of the Round goes to Fifth Grade's star all-rounder Sameer Murthy who was outstanding with the ball to claim 5-31 before top-scoring with 36 runs against Randwick-Petersham. 

The Nags Head Performance of the Round was taken out by a captain's performance from 2nd Grade skipper, Dave Miller, who burgled 2-7 from 5 overs to help bowl Randwick-Petersham out for just 123 runs, before batting assuredly in the run chase with 50no. 

There were a handful of other outstanding performances this round:

Jack Holloway leaping to joint leader in the SUCC Player of the Year Award with 3-18 from 7 overs in the 2nd Grade victory at Sydney University Oval.

Josh Toyer with 4-33 from 6.1 overs in 3rd Grade's hunt for the Minor Premiership.

Nick Arnold's 65no from 63 balls to help chase down Randwick-Petersham's total of 198 in the 3rd Grade clash.

AJ Grant leading the way in 4th Grade's victory with 3-16 from 6 overs.

School kid, Connor Slater, who bamboozled his 4th Grade opposition with 1-18 from 10 overs, an unheard of RPO rate for a young leg-spinner in a Limited Overs match.

Metro Cup skipper, Andrew Wilkinson's 4-24 and 24no to almost get his side home in a tight affair against Gordon.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR TABLE:

TOP TENS

Five things we learned from Round 13

1   Climate change is real

The first day of Round 13 was cancelled due to an anticipated heat wave: the second was heavily disrupted by rain.  Of course, extreme weather has interfered with Grade cricket before – in 1976-77, one day’s play was famously disturbed by a solar eclipse, and in 1994-95, several matches were postponed due to rampant bushfires in and around Sydney.  But this was new, and (through no-one’s fault) it had a distorting effect on the competition.  Worst affected were Sydney University and Randwick-Petersham.  Their game at Coogee eventually began an hour late, and when bad light forced the players from the field, only 10.5 overs had been bowled in University’s innings – 25 frustrating balls short of a Duckworth/Lewis game.  Only one other match in First Grade failed to achieve a result, but there were no points for either University or Randwick-Petersham.  Chasing 229, University was in front of its undemanding Duckworth/Lewis target, but that calculation is highly sensitive to the number of wickets lost, and the home side also thought it was well in the game.  As it was, University remains on top in First Grade, but only on quotient – Gordon drew level on 61 points – and lost the chance to move into second place in a tight Club Championship race.  And Randwick-Petersham dropped to eighth place, making it possible that its Round 15 meeting with Eastern Suburbs could be effectively a play-off for a finals spot.

2   The Bees are still in touch

University of NSW has had an unusual season, never in the top six, flying under the radar, but never entirely out of contention.  They’re now in ninth place, only five points south of a finals place with two rounds to go.  The Bees’ 304 on Saturday was probably about par for North Sydney Oval, set up by David Dawson’s second century of the season and James Henry’s 95.  This actually represented a timely return to form for both batsmen – Dawson’s previous two innings yielded 0 and 4 while Henry had scored 0 and 0 in his last two visits to the crease.  Rico Du Plessis launched the innings in spectacular style by lashing four 6s in his 52 from 45 balls.  North Sydney was 52 runs adrift of its Duckworth-Lewis target when thunderstorms forced the players from the field after 21 overs had been bowled in its innings.  University of NSW now needs to upset Bankstown (whose form looks ominously assured) in Round 14 to keep its season alive.

3   Manly is the master of the late charge

Last season, Manly overcame a lacklustre start to surge towards the finals, missing out by only a single point.  Something similar is happening in 2016-17.  Manly won only one of its first three matches, but now has worked its way up to seventh, just one point behind Parramatta and Penrith.  Michael Visser neatly symbolizes this recovery: in Round 3, he returned the decidedly unflattering figures of 0-138 against Sydney University, but since then he has taken five wickets in an innings on three occasions, and his 5-31 against Fairfield set up another Manly victory.  Visser took the first five wickets to fall as Fairfield crumbled to 5-39 before Matthew Harivel and the lower order lifted the total to 137.  Manly actually squeezed home by only nine runs on Duckworth/Lewis, negotiating some testing bowling from Doug Bollinger, who made a rare appearance for his club.  Manly now plays the faltering Northern District (beaten on Saturday for the sixth match in succession) at Mark Taylor Oval. 

4   Second Grade is a log-jam

Not right at the top – Sydney won again, putting its minor premiership beyond doubt: it’s 18 points clear of second-placed University of NSW.  But a little lower down, things get interesting.  Mosman (48) and Parramatta (44) round off the top six, but then there are another six teams within three points of Parramatta.  Sydney University (9th) and Mosman (5th) could swap places on the table if results go a certain way in Round 14 – but there are also plenty of other possible permutations.  Mosman plays seventh-placed Penrith in a Round 14 match that has the look of sudden death about it.

5   Hugh Sheriff looks like one to watch

Old players of a certain age can still feel the bruising where they were hit by the Balmain left-arm quick Andrew Jones a few decades back.  Jones, whose bouncer was suspiciously difficult to pick up, was often a deadly operator for Balmain, as well as bowling well for New South Wales.   But now he seems in danger of being upstaged by his 15 year old nephew, Hugh Sheriff.  Sheriff is a lively fast-medium bowler whose season has been disrupted by injury, but he played a part in Sydney’s AW Green Shield victory, and now turns out in the Tigers’ table-topping Fourth Grade side.  At Birchgrove Oval on Saturday, he was given the ball as first change after Wests had struggled to four for 25.  A few chaotic minutes later, the innings was over.  With his second ball, Sheriff bowled Rowan Carthey; he then bowled Alex Cheung and completed the hat-trick by removing Mandeep Oberoi. With the last ball of his over, he had Mitchell Fleming caught: 4-0.  In his next over, he delivered two wides, but also won lbw decisions against Lachlan Dawson and Zain Shamsi.  Wests were all out for 33: Sheriff sent down only ten balls for his six wickets, while allowing no runs at all off the bat.  Predictably, Sydney knocked off the runs two down- the whole game occupied only 24 overs.  What makes it all slightly worse for Wests is that Sheriff is actually a Wests junior, having played with the ACC Club in the Wests/Canterbury Cricket Association.

Milestones Monday

Tom Rogers (5-47) claimed his first five-wicket haul for ACT in the Futures League against Victoria last week.

Devlin Malone made his Futures League debut for New South Wales against Queensland last week.

Hayden Kerr (2-35) improved on his best First Grade bowling figures against Randwick-Petersham.

Nick Arnold's 65 not out against Randwick-Petersham was his second score above fifty in Third Grade.

During his economical spell against Randwick-Petersham (allowing only 18 runs from 10 overs), Connor Slater collected his first wicket in Fourth Grade.

Sameer Murthy (5-31) took his first five-wicket haul for the Club in Fifth Grade's match with Randwick-Petersham.

Match Reports: Round 13

1ST GRADE:

SUCC 0-28 drew with Randwick-Petersham 7-229 (H Kerr 2-35, T Rogers 2-37)

Looking to take a further step towards the Minor Premiership, Uni arrived at Coogee Oval to discover water damage on the pitch resulting in a late start.

Taking advantage of the longer wait, the Batsmen won Nashball (yet again)

Advocates for climate change were the only winners out of this round however with Randwick –Petersham and Sydney University picking up no points each. The late start pushing the match deeper into the day than most other matches, with the afternoon storm resulting in the match being abandoned before the minimum number of overs could be bowled. Only Hawkesbury vs Mosman suffering the same drawn game fate.

Our bowlers did a good job to restrict Limited Overs finalists RPCC to 229 on a good, if slightly slow, Coogee surface. The work and wickets were shared with Tom Rogers (2-37) and a younger, fitter version of Tom Kierath, otherwise known as Hayden Kerr (2-35), the pick of the bowlers.

2ND GRADE:

SUCC 3-127 (D Miller 50*) def Randwick-Petersham 123 (J Holloway 3-18, J Craig-Dobson 3-35, D Miller 2-7)

In a rather uneventful nash ball warm-up, the juniors toiled hard, flooding the goal-mouth but were unable to prevent the olds from scoring a last minute winner in ‘Miller time’ (read like ‘Fergie’ time, not ‘it’s Miller time’).
 
The students won the toss and elected to bowl first in a must-win fixture and eager to unleash the contrasting opening pair of Kershaw and ‘School-zones-Dibbly-Dobson’. Kershaw was too fast and too good to find an edge, exciting those behind the wicket as they began to ponder the possibility of sneaking into the finals with a fierce pace battery. It was the Dobbler (3/35) who was able to strike first for the students, and then again the very next ball but some U/12-like field placements were unsuccessful in the search for a hat-trick. After wickets each to Lewie McMahem (1/20) and ‘fresh wheels Whitaker’ (1/19), Jack Holloway (3/18) was introduced into the attack, surprising the new batsman once, but not twice with his faster bumper. The first flicking the batsman’s neck in a reminder that the new protective guards are a worthwhile investment (thankfully no harm), but the next disappearing over a long square leg boundary for six. Miller (2/7) introduced himself for some overs impersonating Ash Cowan, briefly bowling in tandem with fellow, slightly slower slowman Dobson. Dobson snared the stubborn opening batsman to distinguish the Randy-Petes only hope of a reasonable score as the last 5 wickets fell for just 16 with Holloway and Miller cleaning up the tail.
 
Kevin Jacob unleashed a surprise on his team mates at lunch as he removed his cap to unveil what appeared to be fairy-floss stuck to his head before walking out to open the batting, solidly making his way to 24 as Larkin (14) and Litchfield (1) fell at the other end. After losing Jacob with the score 3/48, Miller (50) and Craze (23) combined to produce the final 75 runs to bring the students home comfortably in 25 overs, earning what could be a crucial bonus point.
 
In post-match highlights, an early finish allowed the students to get to the Nags for some fines and to hear Jack Holloway’s case for his 3-2-1 points, as well as winning the ‘Holloway-off’ vote against an absent Dugald.

3RD GRADE:

SUCC: 4/201 (N Arnold 65*, S Hobson 42, R Danne 40, T Kierath 27) def Randwick Petersham 198 (J Toyer 4-33, R Danne 2-29, K Tate 2-44)

After the successful heat Pepsi week 1 and with severe storms looming Friday arvo week 2, the Units could have been forgiven for attempting the elusive back-to-back. However this would have been in vain as 3rd grade arrived at Petersham Oval in resplendent sunshine and a pitch that would prove to be one of the best all year.

Nashball was a tightly fought encounter, refereed in a fair and even-handed manner by your injured scribe. Despite early vociferous protestations from Kierath et al (i.e. that the youth were actually being awarded 50/50 free kicks), the game was ultimately decided by some excellent running Nash and a (controversial) series of refereeing decisions whereby a penalty was turned into a 2-point advantage goal and a late shot from distance was adjudged to have sneaked into the corner. Full time was awarded shortly after and Old triumphed 3-2. Cheers.

Stand in skipper Kierath lost the toss and Uni were sent to the field. Good bowling and aggressive batting saw an extraordinary first session where despite the loss of 6 early wickets, the run-rate was still approaching 6 an over. After drinks this didn’t really change, with the RP lower order combining well with a stylish 83 from the No. 7 (including several massive horns) and 6-60 ended up becoming 198 all out. Toyer with 4 (incl freebies), Danne and Tatey with 2 each were the pick of the bowlers.

After lunch Kierath and Danne got Uni off to a solid start and the chase began well. After a couple of good starts, steady wickets brought Hobson and Arnold to the crease and the game was delicately poised at 3/80. Bearing in mind the horrendous afternoon forecast, all eyes on the sideline were on the clouds overhead and the run rate.  Despite his wealth of experience, Steven was oblivious to this as he set about getting himself in at his own rate (0* off 20). After 25 overs it became clear that:

a)    It was about to rain/storm and likely end the game
b)    Given we had scored about 6 runs off the last 8 overs we were now well behind the required 4/over run-rate
c)    Both Hobbo and Nick seemed to have no idea of a) and b) above

At this point, gloves were run out to Hobbo (I think they weren’t a matching pair, and neither of them were actually his) and the message was relayed. Hobson took stock of the situation and decided that it was easier to just hit the next ball over cover for six, and with 19 coming off the next over we were once again in front of the rate. Nick Arnold, not to be outdone, set about bludgeoning every ball he could to the midwicket fence, and despite a rain and lightning delay, Uni were able to chase the runs down with overs to spare and collect the 6 points. 9 wins on the bounce for the juggernaut, and it’s back to fortress St Paul’s next week to hopefully make it 10.

4TH GRADE:

SUCC 4/96 (S Sivapalan 36) def Randwick-Petersham 95 (AJ Grant 3-18, A Peek 2-17, R Holcroft 2-21)

Returning to the St Paul's fortress, a disciplined bowling effort from the Students restricted Randy-Petes to a lacklustre 95. Obviously, hoping that rain would save them later in the day, RPs were bowled out in the  46th over, a run rate of a tick over 2 runs per over.

Skipper, AJ Grant, was expensive (at 2.67 per over) but claimed an impressive 3-16, whilst Aiden Peek and Ryan Holcroft claimed two wickets a-piece, and teenage leg-spinner, Connor Slater, bowled with control to take 1-18 from his full 10 overs.

With such a small total on the board, the only danger for the Students was a top-order collapse, and when Tom Galvin (2) and Hugh Kermond (2) fell cheaply, nerves could have fluttered. Suda Sivapalan (35) however used his experience to guide the side to safety, before Nick Fitzgerald (23no) and Angus Cusack (15no) completed the bonus point victory.

The crushing win put the Students back into the top six, sitting fifth on 50 points, and a match up with the winless Fairfield-Liverpool coming up in Round 14 to set up a crucial clash with Bankstown that could result in either a potential home final or missing out completely.

5TH GRADE:

SUCC 149 (S Murthy 36, A Bell 34, L Hughes 34) def by Randwick-Petersham 210 (S Murthy 5-31, M Miles 2-27)

Looking to push themselves as far up the ladder as possible over the last few rounds, the Students came up against a Randy-Petes outfit that were sitting just outside the top six and desperate for a win.

Despite an outstanding individual contribution from Sameer Murthy (5-31 from 9.5 overs), Randy-Petes were able to build partnerships throughout the innings to set a difficult total of 210 runs. Murray Miles supported well with the ball to claim 2-27 from his 10 overs.

Needing everything to go their way, the Students started well, putting 53 on the board before Brayden Dilley (19) fell. Two runouts including Alex Bell (34) put a halt to the run chase, leading to a mini-collapse of 4-15. Sameer Murthy confirmed his man-of-the-match credentials by top-scoring with 36, but another runout and four out bowled saw the Students chase end on 149 runs with 7.5 overs left to face.

METRO CUP:

SUCC 146 (D Wicks 32) def by Gordon 148 (A Wilkinson 4-24, A Mishra 3-38)

Another close game in the Metro season went the wrong way as the Uni boys fell agonisingly short in their chase of Gordon's total. Beginning the day in high hopes and with good momentum the students were optimistic of taking 6 points over the current table toppers. A high quality game of Nash set the tone for the day. The 'olds' continued their dominance reaching an unassailable lead on the call of last play despite the numbers disadvantage.

After losing the toss and being asked to field  the students bowled with swing and pace to control the run rate and take early wickets. A wet outfield already prepped for rugby season acted as a 12th fielder stifling good cricket shots and turning boundaries into 2s. Wickets fell regularly and Gordon were bowled out with 4 overs remaining at 148. A good score considering the conditions off the back of some late hitting. 

The chase began with Gillespie and Wicks combining well before spin captured the first wicket just before the drinks break. Wicks combined well with Morley in the middle session continuing to push the game forwards. But at 5/76 and with the bowler on a hat trick the game was back in the balance. An injured Ayush Mishra was given a license to lift the run rate and targeted the long boundary and the empty space it provided. Another hat trick attempt had the score at 7/112, 37 runs short with 3 wickets remaining. With every run the students edged closer to victory over the competition leaders but wickets continued to fall. With 1 wicket left in hand and 4 runs required for the batsmen chanced their luck in an attempt for a second run and lost to a direct hit from the Gordon skipper. Jubilation for the home team and disappointment for the Uni underdogs.

A tense game of cricket that captured the attention of the local crowd and looks to be a precursor to a semifinal showdown. Gordon showing why they're the team to beat when the pressure is on but a valuable lesson learned for the young Uni team who can take a lot away in preparation for finals. A key game travelling to batsman friendly David Phillips will give us another chance to move into 3rd place and rebuild our good momentum before the end of the season. 

RIP: Paul Barnes (1947 - 2017)

Sydney Uni Cricket expresses it condolences to the family and friends of well respected cricket identity, Paul Barnes, who passed away following a determined battle with cancer on Saturday 4th February 2017.

Paul had a significant influence over a number of the Club's current youngsters having either coached or played with them in various forms of cricket through their junior years.

Family and friends of Paul are warmly invited to attend his Funeral Service to be held in the North Chapel of Pinegrove Crematorium, Pinegrove Memorial Park, Kington Street, Minchinbury on Friday, 17 February 2017 commencing at 3.00 pm.